Ducati 996

So had a couple of Milles. A 2001 and a 2003. Loved them whole heartedly, great bikes and miss them sorely. Through a trip involving a GSX-R1000 I have ended up doing the unthinkable and converting to camp Ducati. The main reason is in NZ it's hard to come by a good RSV, the other is the Duke was a great deal from a Ducati agent... Whilst in posession of the K3 GSX-R1000 I felt I lost a bit of the passion for biking. It's a great bike, does everything it should, but never had nor ever will have that magic of an Italian v-twin. Anyone here got much experience or advice about the 996? Not the 'proper' forum I know but this forum has always steered me in the right direction, thought I'd see if any of you fine folk have had any experience with that 'other' Italian manufacturer...

I had the 916 and loved it.....well to be honest it was the bike I hated to love. It was too small physically for me so I always had neck and knee pain after I had ridden it.

Mine never gave me any serious trouble other than the seal in the clutch slave cylinder going, that cost about £5 to fix. You need to keep on top of servicings, especially the belts. If they stand for a long time without being run up the belts can take the shape of the cam and when started they can then jump a tooth. Never ride it until it is warm. Ducati engines take a while to get the oil up to the head so let it warm up and come off idle before you ride it and then ride for a couple of miles before you give it the big guns.

Electrics are typically Italian, although mine never missed a beat. I think it is as many Italian machines you either get a good one that gives no problems or you get a dog of one.

Termignoni exhaust will make it sound unbelievable, I had 52mm straight through on mine and it made the RSV I have now sound ridiculously quiet (I have a Scorpion race can on this at the moment)

I found, as with all twins, you have to be committed in the corners or it will spit you off. Don't be scared of keeping the power on in the bends or the back end will twitch.

If you have a suicide stand on it, just remember it is there or you could find the bike toppling over when you stand it up and forget the stand has flicked up (I am still getting used to the RSV not doing this and have been known to ride off with the stand down as the cut out has been disconnected).

Rear brake is notoriously poor, same as the RSV. I rarely use the rear brake so it never really bothered me. The clutch is heavy, you can lighten it by putting an aftermarket slave on but I never bothered. As it is a dry clutch it is important to clean out the clutch dust from the basket or it can lead to early wear on the plates. An open clutch cover will help with this as it will clear the dust, but the downside is it is then open to other debris.

The 996 is what turned me on to bikes I remember a movie back in 97 or 98 where this black and white guy are in a chase scene on a pair of 996s. I would love a 1098, the 999s front just doesn't do it for me. I just fear the maintenance stories and will prob get an aprilia instead until I can afford the maintenance on a duc.

Well, bought it. Rode it up the coast around some of the twistiest roads in NZ, absolutely love it! Feels real lazy compared to the RSV, almost like it doesn't pick up revs as quickly. Gets up to speed rather deceptively because of it. Has the standard pipes which are *alright* but really needs something extra. Trying to find a nice set of Termi's or Akra's for a 14 year old Italian bike in NZ is proving to be a bit of a mission so going to gut the standard pipes and get them sounding good. Have a single seat rear cowl to go on the bike that matches in with the after market fairings on it. Overall I'm very happy though, got the magic I was looking for. To be honest if the right RSV came up I think I'd switch back, but at the moment I'm thoroughly enjoying something that handles brilliantly, sounds great, looks fantastic and has charm by the bucket load. Here are a couple of pics, be interested to see what you think. Bear in mind it has the single seat to go on with the white side panels to match the rest:

Ah awesome thanks for that I really appreciate it! When I had to get some brake disks for the Aprilia I ended up getting them from the UK as I just couldn't get anything decent out here for reasonable money. Was cheaper to import them... Where abouts are you located in the motherland?

I had 5 Ducati's before I switched to a 2005 Tuono Racing. I sold it recently for exactly what I had paid for it 4 years earlier. I have now got a 2004 though registered in 2005 RSV1000R Factory. I think my endless search may be over.

I never had any trouble with the Ducati's which included a 748SPS, 998, 998s and two ST4s's which had the 996 engine.